


Connection

by Zerrat



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Sequence, F/F, Mid-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-15
Updated: 2013-03-15
Packaged: 2017-12-05 08:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/721228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrat/pseuds/Zerrat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somehow, they connected and leaned on each other - because of their similarities and in spite of their differences, even when it seemed like it was the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Connection

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as a linked up drabble piece (drabble taking the strict meaning of 100 words exactly), so each part should stand on its own while building into the bigger whole. And because I was after a challenge. *laugh*
> 
> I hope you all enjoy.

I.

It had been a mistake to believe that Lightning was all ice, anger and despair. Despite the warped, mirror image of their convergent paths, Fang eventually came to understand their differences.

Lightning was fire, passion, _warmth_ and the helping, steadying hand when all Fang knew had turned to darkness. She drew her strength from somewhere Fang couldn't fathom.

Lightning stood, unfaltering, against Barthandelus and the Sanctum. From Fang's place guarding her back, Lightning burned so brightly with hope for the future that it sometimes hurt Fang to look at her.

Fang dreaded the moment when Lightning would inevitably break.

II.

All was not as it first seemed, not with Fang. Those sly and careful masks cracked easily, and the raw guilt became obvious when she looked at Vanille, at Pulse, at the rest of the l'Cie.

Fang had delivered Lightning hope, hope of a way back from the Focus - Lightning could not be more thankful for that. It didn't change the fact that Fang held no hope of her own, and the lingering shadows in her eyes made that disturbingly clear.

In all her pain, Fang could no longer see the way out. Lightning decided to lead the way.

III.

They were crooked mirror images of each other - one who knew only defiance, the other only mindful of the cost.

They were identical in their love of their newfound family, of being willing to tear down the sky for the sake of another. They were both willing to fight. They didn't match up perfectly, and the jagged pieces didn't fit together as well as they might have.

Fang raged. Lightning simply offered her hand.

In the end they met somewhere in the middle, and the pain didn't seem as bad when Fang finally let herself fall into Lightning's arms.

IV.

Deep in the Cradle, hope flickered out as Orphan reasserted fal'Cie dominance over its pawns. Fang could have wept, if only she could remember how.

There was no hope, no light at the end of a tunnel. Just fighting, destroying, dying. Somewhere between cycles of torture, Fang lost the will to live on.

Lightning had been there to bring her back to her feet though, holding the weapon out to Fang. Lightning's eyes said she understood - even so, she would drag Fang to her feet as many times as needed.

It was a promise. Fang held onto it tight.

V.

Fate split their paths. Fang sank into stasis, and Lightning rode into battle as the knight-protector of all. The world distorted and bled - Fang lost sense of time and dimension as she rested on the edge of reality.

Fang could never understand how Lightning found her strength. She didn't want to know what would happen when Lightning faltered in Valhalla.

When the light went out and all became Chaos, Fang snatched a spark of fading light and held it close. A memory of a helping hand, of hope in despair.

Lightning said to Fang - rise up. So she did.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like updates as to current projects or just want to chat, feel free to come visit me on my tumblr: [zerrat](http://zerrat.tumblr.com/) (personal) and [zerratwritesstuff](http://zerratwritesstuff.tumblr.com) (writing)!


End file.
